Your Heart's Desire
by IWriteToSurvive
Summary: Hermione and Fred share a very intimate night at Shell Cottage and the result is something entirely magical. What happens when Fred betrays her? Will their relationship last or will someone else come to save Hermione from her downward spiral? What would happen if Hermione found someone else to take care of her and her baby? Fremione first then Dramione. Please send me reviews. )
1. Chapter 1: One Night

Chapter 1

One Night

It happened at Shell Cottage. The night after their escape from Malfoy Manor. Fred had gotten word that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had narrowly escaped death and fled to his brother's house. Immediately, he left for the cottage by the sea. He knew he shouldn't, but he had to. He had to see her.

It was nearly midnight when a knock came at the kitchen door of Shell Cottage. Hermione, Bill, and Fleur all jumped at the unexpected noise and quickly drew their wands. They had been the only ones still awake at this point and were all very cautious of the unexpected visitor of the other side of the back door.

"Whoever is at my door, answer me this; friend or foe?" said Bill evenly as he reached the door, reciting the security question.

"I am neither friend nor foe," came the response. "I am family."

Hermione's heart jumped to her throat as she recognized the voice of one Fred Weasley. Her boyfriend. She let out a small gasp as her hand flew to her lips. Bill's head snapped back to look at her with concerned, questioning eyes.

"You need to ask me my question and I need to ask yours," came Fred's voice again.

Bill had turned to answer when Hermione spoke quietly to him. "Would you mind if I asked him? Please, Bill?"

Trusting Hermione and only hesitating slightly, Bill nodded and stood aside to allow her access to the door. Nervous, Hermione only took a few small steps toward the door. Her hands shook slightly as she asked the question that she and Fred had settled on before she, Harry, and Ron had left to hunt Horcruxes.

"Fred Weasley," she said with more confidence than she felt. "Where did you and I share our first kiss?"

Bill and Fleur exchanged looks of shock and astonishment at her question. No one in the entire family would have expected this.

"The Astronomy Tower at Hogwarts on my eighteenth birthday."

Hermione nodded slightly to Bill and said to Fred," Correct. Your turn."

"What was the last promise we made to each other?" he asked through the door.

Hermione sighed before giving her answer with a slight smile on her face at the memory of their silly promise. "We promised to survive. And we also promised to always set off fireworks on our anniversary."

"And when is our anniversary?" he said in a small, gentle voice, much unlike his usual joyous tones. Bill had never heard him speak so lovingly.

"June eighth. We've been together almost two years now," replied Hermione with a small smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

"That's right," said Fred as Bill opened the door for him.

The second Bill opened the door, Fred and Hermione flung themselves at each other, holding the other in a tight embrace and relishing in each other's warm touch. "Fred," said Bill, drawing the attention of the couple. Fred reluctantly released Hermione and turned to his brother, embracing him briefly.

Fred turned back to Hermione and sighed. He held her close and placed his head on her chin. He sighed out of relief and said, "I'm so glad you're alive."

Hermione breathed in his scent deeply and released a shuddering breath, her whole body shaking as she began to cry. With a knowing smile, Fleur hold of Bill's hand and led him upstairs to bed, giving Hermione and Fred some privacy.

Fred kissed the top of her head and she smiled. Without saying a word, Hermione too Fred by the hand and pulled him into the sitting room, gently guiding him to the couch where she had slept the night before. She kissed him heatedly after casting a quick silencing charm around the room. N owords were needed to know what Hermione wanted from Fred, and he quickly obliged.

An hour later, Hermione found herself naked, resting her head on Fred's shoulder as he held her close. She sighed contentedly. In her opinion, that night, the night she lost her virginity, couldn't have been any better. She just hope that, in the end, it would all be worth it.

She was right, it was. But it also wasn't.


	2. Chapter 2: The Final Battle

Chapter 2

The Final Battle

It had been nearly a month since Hermione and Fred's night together and Hermione knew that tonight would be the final battle. She didn't know how she knew for sure. But she did. This was it, the last chance she had to make a difference. So, she fought. She fought for Harry, she fought for Ron and his family, she fought for her parents, and most of all she fought for Fred. She had to fight for him and she had to survive.

Hermione fell to the ground, sputtering and coughing as she sucked in fresh air. They had narrowly escaped the Room of Requirement after destroying the diadem. Harry, the amazing person that he is, had insisted that they save Malfoy from the Fiend Fyre as well. Bless him, he's such a good soul.

Hermione had barely caught her breath before the trio's attention was caught by an approaching battle from just down the hall. As the fighting rounded the corner and the participants came into view, Hermione's breath caught. She didn't have to question it. She knew exactly who it was. Percy and… Fred.

Quickly getting to her feet, Hermione rushed to the aid of the two men without a second thought. That's when she saw it. A Death Eater, hidden from Fred and Percy's line of vision, was raising his wand to aim at something above Fred's head. Hermione froze on the spot and her eyes grew large at the sight before her. As if in slow motion, Hermione's eyes traveled to the point above Fred's head that the Death Eater was aiming at.

"Fred! Percy, look out!" she shouted as a spell hit the wall above the two Weasleys. She knew that they wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time and quickly cast the strongest shield charm she could think of around them. It was lucky she was such a quick thinker, otherwise they would definitely be dead right now, but she refused to lose Fred. Not after all this fighting. Not when they were so close to being rid of Voldemort for good.

Panting heavily, Hermione dropped her wand arm, releasing the shield charm as the last of the rubble fell away and the dust settled. Hermione saw the Death Eaters that they had been fighting hadn't survived the fall of the wall. She didn't even notice that Harry and Ron had rushed to her side with their wands drawn. She only had eyes for Fred as he looked around and slowly met her gaze.

"Fred," she said in a whisper.

Relief flooded his eyes as he caught sight of her standing there.

"Hermione," he said as he rushed to her.

Without even thinking about the war raging around her, Hermione ran to meet Fred and jumped into his open arms, wrapping her legs around his waist as she hugged him tightly.

Fred gladly accepted her into his arms and spun her around once before stopping and closing his eyes, sighing in content. When Fred felt Hermione unwrap her legs from his waist and lower herself to the ground, he opened his eyes briefly before grabbing either side of her face and kissing her fiercely. Percy, Harry, and Ron exchanged looks of astonishment and shock.

No one knew that someone else looked at Fred and Hermione's spectacle with agonized jealousy.

Harry cleared his throat to get their attention. "Er, sorry guys, but now is really not the time for this."

Fred and Hermione broke apart, smiling at each other. They knew they had to separate again but they made a silent vow to return to each other, no matter what.

"Be safe," Fred said with a serious look.

"I will," Hermione replied. "And don't you dare scare me like that ever again, Fred Weasley."

He smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it, love," he said with a wink as they parted to join the battle once more.

It was over. It was finally over. Hermione, Harry, and Ron looked around them at the mess of rubble and dust in the Entrance Hall. They could hardly believe that all their fighting was now over, as the war died with Voldemort. Turning to each other, the trio embraced as one. After a good few moments of happy silence, Ron spoke, with an obvious smirk on his face.

"So, Hermione, you and Fred, eh?"

Instantly, Hermione pulled away from the group hug with wide eyes and a slight blush. How could she have forgotten to find Fred first?

Without saying anything, Hermione rushed off into the Great Hall, Harry and Ron following closely behind her. The moment they stepped foot into the hall, a gentle, grateful applause welcomed them. Many faces smiled at them but Hermione only searched for the face of one specific Weasley boy. A flash of long red hair swept past Hermione and she knew that Ginny had rushed directly to Harry.

Hermione's eyes searched for the familiar pair of hazel orbs that belonged to Fred. To _her_ Fred. A commotions slightly to the left and behind a group of people caught her attention.

"Mum," said a muffled voice. "Let go of me!"

"No, Fred," replied the voice of Mrs. Weasley. "You need to rest."

Hermione's face went pale at those words. Had something more happened to Fred while they had need apart during the battle?

"I'm fine, Mum!" Fred growled in frustration.

Then, before Hermione could so much as move an inch, Fred shoved his way through the crowd that had been previously blocking him from view.

"Fred, come back here right now! You need to lay down!" came Mrs. Weasley's frantic voice as she emerged from the crowd, trying to pull Fred back to the conjured cot on the floor behind them.

"Hermione," Fred said as he wrenched himself from his mother's grasp and wrapped her in his arms. "Thank Merlin, you're all right!"

Without a second thought, Hermione hugged Fred back as she shook slightly. She sighed. In Fred's arms once more, Hermione finally felt safe. Fred nudged her face up to look at him. He smiled down at her and captured her lips in his once more, not even caring about the audience they had of the onslaught of whispers and wolf whistles that erupted throughout the entire hall.

With wide eyes, Molly looked at Fred and Hermione in their intimate embrace. She had always hoped that Hermione would someday become a part of the family, and she had also known that Hermione would not end up with Ron. Though she was glad that Hermione was with one of her sons, she had not expected that son to be Fred.

As Hermione and Fred broke apart from their kiss, Fred began to shake and sweat from the overexertion of standing too long. Though he grinned like a madman at her, Hermione could see him quickly lose all color and get rather clammy. Instantly worried, Hermione went pale herself and helped to support Fred's weight, putting an arm around his waist. George rushed forward and carefully helped guide his twin back to the cot on the floor.

"What happened to him?" Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley as she crouched down next to her son with her wand out.

"Nasty cutting curse," she replied. "He lost a lot of blood before anyone could get to him. It was lucky Arthur found him when he did. I was able to heal the cuts but he still needs to rest for a good, long while."

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded as Fred gently squeezed her hand in soft reassurance. She smiled down at him and kissed the hand she held.

"I thought I told you no to scare me again, Fred Weasley," she said, scolding him. Fred caught the subtle smirk on her lips.

He smirked in return. "Oh, you know me, love. I live to live dangerously. It wouldn't be living if there wasn't a little bit of danger involved."

Fred winked and Hermione couldn't help but smile.

"Hermione," said a voice from behind.

Hermione stood and saw Percy standing before her. Allowing Mrs. Weasley to care for Fred, she release his hand and stood to address Percy.

The moment she turned toward him, Percy did something completely out of character; he threw his arms around Hermione and hugged her. Startled by the unexpected gesture, Hermione froze, unsure of what to do. After a few seconds, she returned his hug, awkwardly.

"Oi!" Fred shouted from behind them. "Just because we've taken you back into the family, doesn't mean you can try to steal my girl, Perce!"

Everyone near enough to hear laughed, including Fred and Hermione. Percy shook his head then looked down at Hermione with a rare, warm smile.

"Thank you, Hermione. You saved my life back there. Fred's, too. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting you to fall for that particular brother of mine."

"Hey!" Fred said, indignantly.

Percy chuckled lightly. "But thank you. I don't know what I'd do without Fred, or any of my brothers, for that matter. Thanks to you, I don't have to know what that's like," he said giving her another hug.

"Don't mention it, Percy," Hermione replied with a small smile. "You're all like family to me. I would've done it for any of you, no matter what."

Sitting back down next to Fred, Hermione took his hand as a sudden question seemed to strike Percy.

"How long have you two been together, anyway? I know I've been gone for a while but I'm sure I would've heard about this before now."

Fred and Hermione both cringed at his question. They knew that Mrs. Weasley would have a cow when she heard the answer. Hermione took a deep breath while Fred looked intently at the ceiling as white clouds passed overhead. She looked up at Percy, carefully avoiding Mrs. Weasley's eye. She could feel the intense stares she was getting.

"Next month, we will have been together for two years," Hermione finally stated.

There was shocked silence among the Weasleys, only Bill and Fleur looking unsurprised. Bill, knowing the explosion that was about to erupt from his mother, spoke first.

"Don't start, Mum," They kept it a secret for a reason, and I suspect that reason was to protect each other and all of us. Don't badger them about it. They did what they thought was best." Mrs. Weasley seemed to consider his words and kept quiet, though she pursed her lips out of irritation. "Oh, and Fred," continued Bill as an afterthought. He smiled with a wicked glint in his eyes. "If you hurt our Hermione in any way, I won't hesitate to feed your bits to one of Charlie's dragons."

Fred's eyes grew large and he instinctively moved his hand to protect himself.

"Bill!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

Bill just smirked in satisfaction at his younger brother's reaction.

"Here, here!" came a shout from behind Bill. Percy smiled at them, clearly approving of his older brother's threat.

Hermione couldn't help it. She let out a giggle at their antics. Fred looked at her incredulously and she immediately bit her tongue to stop her laughter. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw a flash of platinum blonde hair and her attention instantly snapped to the Malfoy family, who sat alone in a far corner of the Great Hall. Quickly, Hermione stood to get a better look at the pale Slytherin who had saved her life on more than one occasion. Their eyes met briefly before Hermione's attention was drawn away again.

"Hermione," said Fred. "What is it?"

Hermione swiftly crouched down to whisper in Fred's ear, explaining everything as quickly as possible. Fred's expression slowly slipped from concern to blank understanding. Fred gave her a hesitant, understanding nod as she kissed his forehead before walking away from the Weasleys and toward the Malfoys.

The hall fell silent and all eyes followed her. Hermione, sensing all the staring, held her head up a little higher and walked with purpose.

Draco hadn't taken his eyes off of her since she entered the Great Hall, although, he did close his eyes briefly when she had kissed Fred Weasley. Draco didn't want to witness that act of affection, not when it caused him to ache inside. When he saw her approach, he temporarily lost his breath and his heartrate quickened. She was covered in cuts and bruises, her skin and clothes coated in dirt and grime, but that didn't matter to him. No matter what her physical appearance, Draco would always find her absolutely stunning.

Draco let out a nervous breath as Hermione finally stood before him. He would have stood to greet her if it weren't for his injured leg, which he had been narrowly grazed by a burning hex when pushing Hermione out of the way of a charging acromantula.

Silence hung in the air as Hermione stood before the Malfoy family, hovering above Draco. She hesitated slightly before sitting on the cold, stone floor next to him and taking out her wand to help take care of his leg. The four of them sat there in strained silence as Hermione ran her wand over Draco's leg to try and assess the damage.

Draco observed her carefully as she slowly moved her wand over his calf and knee. There was something different about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on. Despite her fiercely concentrated expression, Draco could see a gently calmness about her. His trance was broken when Hermione began to speak, addressing his mother on his left.

"Could you help me, Mrs. Malfoy?" she asked in a gentle voice. "I need to see the entire burn"

"Of course," Narcissa replied. "What can I do? I've never been the best with healing spells."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I just need you to cut away the cloth around the burn. I can't help to heal it if I can't get to all of it."

Mrs. Malfoy nodded and immediately began to cut away at Draco's left pant leg with her wand. Draco tried his best to hold still while his mother cut his trousers, exposing nearly all of his leg.

Hermione began to dig around in a tiny bag, plunging her entire arm into it. After a few moments of searching, she pulled out several objects. Draco noticed bright, white bandages, several bottles full of various potions, and a medium-sized metal tin, the contents of which he did not know.

"All right," said Narcissa. "I think that's all of it."

Hermione looked up and carefully observed the burn, which she could now see covered most of his thigh and calf.

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Hermione stated before turning to address Draco. "This is going to hurt, Draco. I'm sorry, but I don't very much of my pain potions left, but I do have this one," she said handing him a vial full of a yellow potion. "It's a numbing potion. It's not much but it should help a little with the pain while I clean your leg. I need you to trust me and take that now, then, I need you to lay on your right side so I can get to your leg better."

Draco nodded and downed the potion in one gulp, instantly feeling a slight tingling sensation run through him and down to his leg.

Handing Hermione back the empty vial, he said, without thinking twice, "I've always trusted you." They shared a quick look before Draco followed Hermione's instructions and laid down on his side.

Hermione nodded and spoke to his parents once more. "Mrs. Malfoy I need you to help me. Hand me the bandages and potions when I need them, please?" Narcissa nodded and moved to sit next to Hermione, near Draco's head. "Mr. Malfoy, I'm going to need your help, too, if you're willing."

"Yes, of course," he said in a hoarse voice.

"Okay," Hermione said. "I need you to come over here and hold his leg down while I clean it. The potion I gave him will help some but not much. I can't imagine this will be too pleasant and I can't have him squirming."

As Mr. Malfoy got into position, Hermione looked closer at Draco's burn and decided that some of the skin was beyond saving and would have to be scraped away. Inwardly, Hermione flinched. She knew that was going to be very painful.

"How are you feeling, Draco?" she asked.

"I've felt better," he admitted with a slight grimace.

"Has the pain subsided at all since you drank the potion?"

"A little, I suppose," he said with a wince as he adjusted his position on the floor.

Hermione nodded again then took a deep breath as she prepared herself. "You might want to bite down on something, Draco. It's a lot worse than I originally thought."

"I'll be fine," he replied.

"Okay then," she said. "Prepare yourself."

Draco took a deep, steadying breath, before nodding to her, indicating that he was ready.

"Hold tight, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione instructed.

When she thought Draco was good and pinned down, she immediately began to scrape away lightly at Draco's burnt and dead flesh with a potion soaked cloth. A piercing cry escaped Draco's lips. Doing her best to ignore his whimpers, Hermione plunged forward while Lucius struggle to keep his son still. After several, painstaking minutes of stripping away his dead flesh, Hermione finally paused in her efforts to help him. She placed a gently hand on Draco's forearm. He had started to shake violently and a thin film of sweat had formed on his brow.

At her touch, Draco opened his eyes and Hermione gave him a reassuring smile. "You're doing wonderful, Draco," she said. "I'm nearly finished. I know it hurts, but I need you to do your best to hold still. Do you think you can do that for me?"

Draco reached down and gently squeezed the hand that she had placed on his arm.

"Yes."

Hermione smiled, then turned to Narcissa. "Mrs. Malfoy, will please give me the green, blue, and purple potions – thank you." Gently, she began to dab the various potions on the burn as Draco bit back more anguished cries.

"Okay, now will you hand me the tin of ointment and the bandages?" she said. "Thank you. Now, Draco, this is going to be rather cold. It should feel quite nice, actually, but I need you to relax your leg as much as possible. This will be more effective if your muscles aren't tense."

Hermione quickly finished up with the ointment, with a few strangled yelps from Draco, and used her wand to wrap his entire leg in the white bandages. When she was finished, Hermione helped Draco to sit up against the wall and sat next to him. Quietly, Hermione began to pack up her empty potion vials. They were all silent for what seemed like ages before Draco spoke.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you for helping me. I don't deserve it."

"Nonsense," Hermione replied firmly. "Of course you deserve to be helped. You did save my life, after all. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here right now."

Draco fell silent.

"Thank you, by the way," she continued in a small voice. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"There's no need to repay me. Besides, you healed my leg. I'd say that's more than enough gratitude."

They smiled kindly at one another.

Hermione got up to leave, giving Mrs. Malfoy strict instructions on how to care for Draco's burn. As she turned to walk back to the Weasleys, Draco called out to stop her.

"Hermione, wait!"

Shocked at his use of her first name, Hermione whipped around to see Draco, struggling to stand. Her eyes grew wide with worry that he might fall and she nearly rushed forward to catch him but, his father held him up quickly. Draco regained his footing and addressed Hermione again.

"Hermione, I'm sorry," he said firmly. She froze on the spot. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you in school. I'm sorry for everything terrible I've ever done to you, and I'm sorry I couldn't do anything more to stop my aunt torturing you back at the Manor. I don't deserve to be forgiven and I don't expect to be, but I hope you can accept my apology."

Hermione stood rooted to the spot for a few moments. She never expected Draco Malfoy to apologize to her and it took a good long while for it to sink in. His eyes never left hers and she could tell that he meant every word.

Gingerly, Draco took a step forward, his parents standing close behind in case they needed to catch him again.

"And I wanted to thank you," he said, softly. "For fixing me up, I mean. You didn't have to, but I'm grateful that you did. No one else would've done it. Thank you so much for being the kind and caring person that you are."

Without warning, Hermione walked right up to Draco and gently embraced him. He only hesitated slightly before hugging her in return. He sighed softly and closed his eyes, enjoying the moment while it lasted.

A scandalous murmur ran through the Hall.

"Of course, I accept your apology," Hermione said as she pulled away. "I can't speak for anyone else, but I forgive you, Draco."

Hermione gave him one last, quick hug before pulling away and returning to the Weasleys.

Fred smiled as Hermione made her way back to him. He had witnessed the entire encounter and he couldn't help but grin, stupidly. His girlfriend was the most forgiving person he had ever met.


End file.
